


Kill the Beast

by Several_very_small_mangoes



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Dead Gaston (Disney), M/M, Pining LeFou (Disney), angst lefou, manipulative gaston
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 14:03:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10923324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Several_very_small_mangoes/pseuds/Several_very_small_mangoes
Summary: "Lefou had spent far too much of his life desperately in love with Gaston, subjecting himself to all the physical and mental abuse Gaston pushed upon him. He allowed himself to be mistreated and used all for the sake of his love. It felt as though his heart had been ripped apart, leaving a gaping hole in his chest. It felt as though the cold wind was the only thing inhabiting the space beneath his ribs, and that was all there ever would be."An alteration to the end of the 2017 movie in which Lefou realizes how manipulative Gaston is, and Gaston is not as oblivious as he seems.(I'm bad as summaries just read it. Trust me.)





	Kill the Beast

The mob was moving quickly, the only light was coming from a large wagon set ablaze, as they ran left and right, grabbing anything that could be used as a weapon. Some grabbed swords and guns, while others were left to grab any particularly long, heavy object in the surrounding area. They were tearing apart their own village in fear of something that only came into existence to them just minutes before. They didn't like what they didn't understand, in fact, it scared them.

Much like the fire devouring the wooden wagon, the panic was all fueled by one man, Gaston.  
He too, was in a frenzy over an imaginary threat. He was grabbing swords and torches for anyone passing by. He had a gun at his belt, a quiver of arrows across his back, and a maddened fury in his eyes. In the dancing, flickering light of the flames, he looked horrifying to the point that his own best friend no longer recognized his eyes.  
Through the fury and turmoil, and despite his stout stature, Lefou was able to push through the thick crowd to this brute that was once his friend. Gaston was just about to mount his horse, torch in hand, army at his back, when Lefou grabbed his arm, causing Gaston to pause.  
“Gaston, stop.” Lefou pleaded, not releasing Gaston’s arm in case he mounted his horse and rode off.  
“Stop what, Lefou?” Gaston questioned angrily.  
“I’m saving Belle! I’m saving everyone from this hideous… Beast!”  
He spit the word ‘beast’ as if it was a dangerous curse.  
“You aren’t saving anyone!” Lefou pleaded. “You are going after the innocent! You have Belle and her father locked away as if they’re insane!”  
Gaston ripped his arm from the weaker man’s grip.  
“Perhaps I should lock you away too!” He spit.  
“Gaston stop!” Tears sprung to Lefou’s eyes at the thought of what Gaston had become. Of course Lefou knew Gaston was never the kindest. He knew that the way Gaston treated him wasn’t just what he deserved, but Lefou loved him and Gaston was his responsibility. He kept him calm and happy and in return Gaston kept him safe. Lefou liked to believe, in his own crazy way, perhaps Gaston loved him too. 

“Why should I, Lefou?” Gaston all but snarled. In that moment, Lefou was more scared than he had ever been in the war, but what scared him most was the fact that all this fear was caused by his best friend.  
“Because, mon amour, you can’t! Because I love you! Because I don’t want you to become a monster!”  
The world shimmered and spun due the tears glassing over Lefou’s eyes, but he blinked them away. Despite the fact that his whole body was shaking and he already had dried tear tracks down his cheeks, he stood his ground, one hand still on Gaston’s arm as he stared directly into the other’s eyes, waiting.  
The shouting never stopped, more people were flocked around the horses, mounting and gathering. No one paid the two men any attention.  
When Gaston spoke it was low in tone, but not volume.  
“There is only one monster, and it’s in that tower. Je suis désolé”  
With that, Gaston mounted his horse. called for the others, turned his back on Lefou and rode away. The mob of people followed, still shouting. It didn’t take long for the town to become empty of all except for the asylum guard, his prisoners, and Lefou.  
A suddenly calm overcame Villeneuve and it was unnerving. The fire crackled almost pleasantly, vibrant against the dark night. The sky was full of stars, and the small sounds of the spring peepers reached Lefou through the ringing of his ears. 

Lefou’s next actions were taken without much thought, as he approached the asylum guard.  
“I uh… I was told to stay behind and guard the… Prisoners for you.”  
He told the skeletal man.  
“You can go home and rest or something.”  
The guard seemed to consider him for a moment, before slowly handing him the keys that hung at his belt.  
“Don’t let them out,” He hissed. “or I will make sure something truly terrible happens to you.”  
The man then turned and began walking away. “Have you ever seen the inside of a mad house?” He asked over his shoulder. “You wouldn’t last a day.”  
He was then out of reach of the flickering fire light, and Lefou lost him in the darkness. 

Lefou waited no more than a minute to make sure he was truly gone, before turning to the barred carriage Belle and her father were held in. He had to step up onto a metal bar attached along the bottom of the carriage to reach the lock, and when his face popped up in the barred window, both Belle and Maurice gasped in surprise.  
“Lefou…” Belle began. Lefou hushed her before successfully pulling the lock from the doors and flinging them open.  
“Come, you have to warn the beast.” Lefou told her hurriedly. Belle jumped out before turning to help her father down.  
“Thank you…” She said, turning to Lefou. “I’m sorry mon cher... I know how you felt about him.”  
Belle’s eyes were dark and her voice sad. Lefou could only nod and give her a small smile in return before she took off running.  
Lefou stood and watched her disappear on horseback, his eyes trailing her until she too, was swallowed by darkness.  
A hand on his shoulder was what brought him back to reality. Lefou turned to face Maurice.  
“Thank you.” The old man said, stooping a bit to look him directly in the eyes. “Give me the lock and the keys, I’ll lock the wagon up again so it looks normal. You have to go.”  
“Go? Go where?” Lefou questioned with a start. A small, sad, smile played on the old man’s lips.  
“Go save him.”  
The only thing Lefou could hear was his heart pounding as he thrust the lock and key into Maurice's outstretched hand and made for the horses. He threw himself upon his shorter steed and took off in the direction he saw the others make for.

\---------------------------------

The scene inside the castle was heartbreaking.  
As soon as Lefou stepped foot inside, a sense of familiarity washed over him. He looked around with eyes that recognized everything he saw, but a brain that could not remember why.  
Overflowing this surreal palace were the screams of a fight. People he knew were bleeding on the floor, others in a rage against what appeared to be common household items. Lefou didn’t have time to be confused, he had to find Gaston before the man did something monstrous.  
The most promising direction appeared to be up a set of stairs that sat directly in front of him, so that’s where he headed, dodging people and objects as he went. He was halfway up the stairs when he heard a scream, causing him to whip around. What he saw didn’t exactly register in his mind, however his reflexes reacted and he managed to catch a teapot falling from a chandelier right above his head.  
“Thank you deary!”  
The teapot exclaimed. She had the kind voice of an older women, and a intricate face etched into her porcelain frame.  
“I uh… You’re welcome!” Lefou stuttered. A talking teapot was not the weirdest thing he had seen that day.  
“Oh, watch out!” She cried, causing Lefou to turn, and duck, in time as a man came at them. The teapot sprayed boiling water into the man’s face as Lefou turned quickly and punched a man coming at them from the other side.  
“Nice shot!” The teapot exclaimed.  
“Well… I used to be on Gaston’s side but now… Oh, do you know where he went?”  
“Yes,” She replied as Lefou jogged the rest of the way up the stairs.  
“He went up into the west wing, that way.”  
She gestured with her whole body in the direction Lefou was to go.  
“Thank you,” Lefou said as he hurriedly placed her on a table of books that had moved itself over by the railing.  
“My dear,” The teapot said, causing Lefou to stop turn back.  
“You’re too good for him anyway.”  
Lefou could only offer a sad smile before he took of running up the flight of stairs that had been pointed out to him. 

At the top, the landing opened into a dark room that lay in ruins. A thick coat of dust had made it’s home across every inch, only disturbed by the wind and the rain whipping from the gaping hole in the wall on the other side. Lefou barely took in the sights the room held as he ran for the opening, finding himself on a small balcony. The cold rain pierced his skin like tiny needles, the sound of the wind ringing in his ears, but it was the scene he saw before him made his heart drop. Belle was standing in crumbling hole in a wall a little ways away from him, calling to the beast who was injured and hanging on to a turret with only his claws. Gaston stood on what could only be described as a stone bridge, a gun in his hand, aimed for the beast.  
Lefou acted quickly, running down a set of stairs and sliding down a place where the stone had broken away onto the bridge. He saw Gaston was still taking aim, his finger not yet on the trigger, and threw himself in front of the gun knowing he wouldn’t be accidentally shot.  
“Stop!” Was all he could manage, however his appearance alone caused Gaston lower his gun in surprise.  
“Lefou, que se passe-t-il? What are you… What are you doing?!”  
Seeing Gaston trip over words wasn’t a very common sight. If anything it was unnerving. Lefou couldn’t tell if he was angry, or simply confused by his appearance.  
“Listen to me, you have to stop this. You can’t kill the beast, he isn’t dangerous.”  
Gaston opened his mouth to argue, he lifted his hand to push Lefou aside, but both actions seemed to falter, as no words left his mouth and his hand dropped back to his side.  
“Gaston you are not a hero! Doing this will not make you one, nor will you ever be! I am begging you, please drop your gun. I-”  
Gaston suddenly sprang to life, anger overtaking his features.  
“Have you gone mad? The beast is evil, look at it! Why do you defend it!”  
“I don’t Gaston! I’m trying to stop you from the murder of the innocent!”  
Lefou’s voice shook as he began to sound increasingly desperate.  
“This is murder Gaston! This isn’t like what we did in the war! We had a reason, a cause when we killed out there! This? This is senseless!”  
“This is no different!” Gaston shot back. He looked menacing, looming over Lefou in the darkness, his hair whipping around him in the wind despite being pulled back by a ribbon, his eyes held a fury unlike anything Lefou had seen.  
“You really are a fool. Get away from me.”  
Lefou faltered. His hands began to shake and he felt his face burn red.  
“You don’t… You can’t… You can’t speak to me that way.” Lefou said in a stone cold voice.  
“You try so hard to be the hero, Gaston, but you really are one hell of a villain. I don’t know how I ever loved you.”  
Tears fell steadily down Lefou’s face as he stared Gaston straight in the eye. He had never seen this man before. He was different. Older, perhaps, scarier. This was not the man he fell in love with. This was not the man he fought for in the war. This was not the man who saved him from poverty in the streets. This was no longer his best friend. Where had he gone? 

A noise from above is what brought Lefou’s attention back. The beast had jumped across to the opening where Belle stood. Lefou only had to glance at Gaston to know that he was going after the beast once more. Just as Gaston began to move, Lefou’s hand shot out and grabbed his arm.  
“Let go of me Lefou.” Gaston growled. “What you say makes no difference to me. See how the town will bask in my glory when I return with that monster’s head on a stick.”  
With that, he shook his arm from Lefou’s grip and shoved him out of the way, intent on reaching the beast. What he didn’t realize was that the bridge was not very wide, and Lefou happened to be standing quite close to the edge. When he shoved past, it caused Lefou to lose balance, and almost go over the edge. He managed to grab Gaston’s wrist, still leaning dangerously, unable to regain his balance.  
“Gaston,” Lefou gasped, his eyes wide. “Help!”  
For a second Gaston just stood there, looking at him. He didn’t return the grip of his friends hand, he seemed to be calculating, if that was something Gaston could do.  
“Please…” At that word Gaston secured his hand around Lefou’s, but made no action to pull him back on balance and Lefou was unable to do it himself.  
“What are you doing?!” Lefou cried. “Help me!”  
There was something in Gaston’s eyes that told Lefou exactly what he was doing. A kind of anger, a madness. He could let him go, then nothing would stand in his way. He could be the hero he always wanted to be. Lefou was a minor setback, albite his oldest friend. He had a town of admirers, would one gone missing really make a difference?  
That is what Lefou asked himself. If he went missing, would it really make a difference?  
Lefou was hopelessly in love with a man who didn’t give the slightest in return.  
With each beat cracks began to spiderweb through his heart. It hurt more than anything Lefou had ever felt. Unrequited, unhealthy love. 

“Gaston…”  
Lefou gasped once more, tears filling his eyes, threatening to spill over. They blurred his vision, so he couldn’t see that Gaston’s expression softened. There was barely any time for Lefou to tell that Gaston had shifted, and was going to pull him back from the ledge, when the beast came down from above. He pulled Lefou from the edge so violently that he stumbled and fell to the ground. No one noticed, however, for the beast was on Gaston, attacking, clawing.  
Animalistic cries mixed with those of a man and got lost in the wind together.  
All Lefou could do was watch. He watched until the cries of the man no longer mingled with that of an animal. He watched as a deep red pooled into the cracks of the stone bridge. He watched as the beast stood.  
“Are you alright?”  
The beast asked him. All Lefou could do was stare. Although the beast’s body was blocking Gaston from view, his clothes were stained with blood.  
“Please,” He began, taking a step forward.  
His movement caught Lefou off guard, causing him to react more out of instinct then anything, as he pushed himself away from the beast until once more, his back faced open air. This caused the beast to stop mid step and his face dropped when he saw the look of horror Lefou held.  
Lefou’s eyes were wide and filled with tears, his hair half falling out of it’s ribbon, haphazardly laying across his shoulders. His face was red from the stinging wind and his lips were trembling.

In a state of silent shock, neither of them moved until a scream rang from above. Belle ran down to them from the opening in the castle. She had seen Gaston’s body from above, and she was shaking.  
“What did you do?!”  
She cried at the beast.  
“I was saving his life!” The beast responded, equal in volume as he pointed a claw at Lefou.  
“You killed a man!” Belle’s voice shook in anger and shock rather than sadness as she stood tall, addressing this beast without a hint of fear.  
“He was going to kill someone else! He was trying to kill me!”  
“You cannot justify a murder!”  
Belle cried, her voice held an anger Lefou had never heard in her before. She seemed intimidating, even standing in front of the beast.  
“Do you want them to be right about you? Are you really a monster?”  
At this the beast seemed to have a renewed fury in his eyes.  
“Do not call me a monster for saving a man’s life.”  
The beast responded coldly, clenching his huge paws into fists.  
“Do not think yourself a hero for bloodshed.”  
Belle responded with an equal amount of fury. 

Through this exchange Lefou had not moved, and he had not taken his eyes away from the blood staining the stones of the bridge. The world seemed to be moving slower. Everything seemed as if it was being reflected in a mirror fogged by steam. This is why Lefou didn’t register the exact meaning of the word murder when it passed Belle’s lips. This is why he didn’t understand who it was he had been saved from. This is why, when the beast shifted slightly in order to tower just a bit larger over Belle, Lefou couldn’t quite understand why Gaston wasn’t moving.  
A cry of anger from the beast is what brought reality crashing down upon him. His whole body shook and his face drained of blood as he was suddenly staring at his best friend’s cold, dead eyes. Gaston’s face had been bashed until it was almost unrecognizable. The majority of the blood was coming from his chest, still running down and soaking into the stone as if his heart was still causing the blood to flow. Lefou’s shrill scream pierced the air, and all that followed was silence.

As the rain still fell, and each drop that hit the ground seemed to echo in Lefou’s ears. Each stone that shifted on the bridge as he stood made a clacking sound. Everything was amplified, even his own heartbeat rung in his ears. The horror-struck man was unaware of Belle and the beast watching him as he moved slowly and painfully towards Gaston’s lifeless figure. As Lefou got closer, he began to see his partner’s wounds in more detail. It took everything in him not him not to let out another scream as he lowered himself to his knees next to Gaston, however, when his hand brushed against Gaston’s cold, lifeless cheek, he couldn’t help it. The sound that escaped him chilled Belle to the bone, and still haunts her in the nightmares she sometimes has of that night outside the palace. It sounded as if a scream caught up with a sob and in one fluent sound, released all the pain and love Lefou had ever felt towards this one man. It echoed across the expanse and got swept up by the wind.

Lefou grabbed Gaston’s hand in his own and brought it to his lips, the tears and rain streaking his face ran down his lips as he kissed Gaston’s knuckles, before dropping both their hands in his lap. With a sob of complete unadulterated agony, Lefou doubled over, his forehead resting against Gaston’s stomach, his whole body shaking with sorrow.  
In between sobs Lefou kept repeating, “I love you, mon âme… Please… I love you.”  
As if, at his words, Gaston would come back, wrap his arms around Lefou once again and everything would be alright. But nothing would be alright again. Not for Lefou. He had spent far too much of his life desperately in love with Gaston, subjecting himself to all the physical and mental abuse that was pushed upon him. He allowed himself to be mistreated and used all for the sake of love. At this moment, even in death, Gaston was still torturing Lefou. It felt as though his heart had been ripped apart, leaving a gaping hole in his chest. It felt as though the cold wind was the only thing inhabiting the space beneath his ribs, and that was all there ever would be. 

Lefou stayed there, crumpled over the man he loved, sobs racking his body until there was no tears left for him to cry, and the rain had stopped. The sun had begun to peak over the horizon, seeing if it was safe to come out. As the sun had just woken up from a peaceful sleep, it struggled to pierce through the heavy rain clouds, but it cast enough light so the three living souls on the bridge no longer had to squint through the darkness.  
Belle approached Lefou slowly as he remain collapsed over Gaston’s body, no longer sobbing, yet his entire body still shook.  
“Lefou,” Belle said quietly, bending down to place a hand on Lefou's shoulder, who didn’t react to her presence.  
“Lefou, please.”  
When he turned his head to face her, Belle had never seen anyone look more pitifully grief stricken.  
“We can’t stay out here.” Belle said gently. Lefou shrugged her hand off his shoulder.  
“We can’t… I can’t leave him here.”  
Lefou responded, his eyes looking everywhere accept Gaston’s dead form and their cold hands still intertwined.  
“We can carry his body back to the castle… Please, you are wet and freezing. You musn’t stay here.”  
The beast moved towards them, in action to carry Gaston’s body to the castle, but before he could get closer to them, Lefou jumped up, blocking Gaston from the beast’s path.  
“Don’t you dare touch him.” Lefou all but snarled.  
“Don’t you dare go near him. Toi meurtrier.”  
The beast faltered, his whole body drooping as he hung his head in resignation.  
“You… You took him away from me.” Lefou’s tone was scarily cold. A shadow seemed to pass over his puffy red eyes. He looked truly pitiful, with tear tracks and Gaston’s blood staining his cheeks. Pitiful, and horrifying.  
“Look what you’ve done! How could you?!” Lefou screamed, clenching his fists as his whole body bent forward and tears raced down his cheeks. “Regardez ce que vous avez fait, vous avez m’a tué!” All the air left his lungs as he let out a piercing sob that hung in the empty air. Lefou felt as though he too, had been torn apart by the claws of a monster. In a way, he had, and although Gaston was a monster, Lefou had loved him.  
\---------------------------

 

The funeral took place the night of the ball. While others rejoiced in their new found prince, Lefou worked in the dark to dig a grave for the man he loved. The only light came from a lantern hanging on a tree branch, swinging in the wind. Lefou worked alone, digging for hours on end as a never ending stream of tears raced each other down his cheeks. From the distance, all Lefou could see of the castle were the lights. Brilliant, bright lights flooding from every window, every crack in the wall. Faint silhouettes of people danced in a frenzy past the large windows. They all laughed as one, danced as one, and smiled as one as Lefou cried alone. The party went on as Gaston’s body was rolled unceremoniously into the grave with a dull thud. The party went on as dirt was piled up. It went on and on and on. Long after he is forgotten, still there Gaston’s bones lay, in an unmarked grave dug by the hands of one man.  
The town of Villeneuve was happy.  
Lefou was not. 

The passing of many years finds Lefou married to a woman he had no feelings for, who knows nothing of his past. Her name was Bellefille. He did not love her, for, she was just as her name suggests, a beautiful woman. They lived outside Villeneuve with two children, Juillet and Allaire. Lefou does love them, but it was never the life he wanted. Of course, Lefou could never have what he had wanted. What he wanted was not Gaston, no. Lefou was not as foolish as his name states. He knew very well that what he had with that man was unhealthy and unrequited. Though dreams still haunt him at night, Lefou no longer loved Gaston. He perhaps missed what life used to be. Long nights in a warm bar, crisp morning hunting trips and cramped tents. Simple. It used to be simple. When he didn’t have to mary for the sake of societal norms and status, where he could follow Gaston around, relying on Gaston to keep him from falling into poverty. He never had to explain why he lacked a wife at his age, as long as he followed Gaston around the attention was never on him then. But Gaston was dead, Lefou could no longer explain his lack of a wife or kids, so Lefou married a woman he could never love and had kids that he never wanted.  
On the day Allaire was born, Lefou cried his heart out, for he knew that he would be just like him. He knew that Allaire would be pushed around in a cold, unforgiving world. He would experience all that Lefou himself had experienced, something he could never wish on anyone. And what if either of his kids turn out to be gay? In a town such as Villeneuve, where a woman is discriminated against for the ability to read, how could they accept the love of the same gender?  
And so it all ends. Everything Lefou had ever wanted or ever wanted to be. It was all torn apart by the claws of a beast. Which beast it was, however, no one could tell. Not even Lefou.


End file.
